


I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you

by Crazy_luna



Series: Owari Magica [89]
Category: Owari Magica
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:15:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26787316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crazy_luna/pseuds/Crazy_luna
Summary: And even though it all went wrongI'll stand before the Lord of SongWith nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah
Series: Owari Magica [89]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1815574





	I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you

**Author's Note:**

> Total: 3025  
> Beetle/Ana: 1416 words at 710 +700 +50= 1460pts  
> Furu/Vanessa: 1609 words at 805 +800 = 1605pts

It was pretty late when Vanessa got home from the airport--or rather, very early in the morning. Unsure if her girlfriend was still staying at the Morsons or was coming home later in the day, she tried to be careful and quiet entering the apartment, but had the tired clumsy movements of someone running solely on depressurised airplane coffee and 3 hours of sleep, Vanessa found herself swinging the front door open with a lot more force than she meant too as she lugged her suitcase through. Cursing under her breath she stayed still, hoping she hadn't woken anyone.

Ana had stayed with Von and Salem for a couple of days after her sleepover with Percy, but she found it difficult not to want to question them about... everything, and ended up back at the apartment before long. She finds sleeping difficult when she's fully alone, but it's better than wanting to snap at someone, she thinks. As she hears the door slam open, she stands up from where she'd been curled up on the couch with an old DS and the brain teaser game she'd decided to play.

"Vanessa?" If this was actually an intruder, she could probably scare them off with a transformation and her Harpoon Gun. It's like 3am, anyone who sees that is going to assume they're hallucinating.

"Shit" She mutters at Ana's question, she didn't come back to wait for her, did she?

"Sorry, heavy suitcase" She replied, loud enough for Ana to hear but not enough to cause more of a ruckus than she was already causing, she left the offending case in the hallway as she began kicking off her shoes.

Mariana relaxed a tad, and shifted her weight.

"Were you always gonna come back this late? I thought the Morsons and I were s'posed to pick you up from the airport." It is still late- it's not 'tomorrow' until you go to bed. Ana has always believed that.

"I know, I'm sorry. I got held up at the airport" Her shoulders sagged as she entered the apartment properly and smiled, all exhaustion gone from seeing Ana there.

"One of the parks of looking like this" she gestured to her face as she headed to the kitchen for some water "Is that sometimes TSA decide to perform random checks and searches". It was frustrating, but she could only imagine how bad it was for those with non-Eurocentric names or American passports. Normally she could get by easily enough, what little celebrity her father's company lent her would let her go with impunity, but other times it didn't.

Ana hummed. She snapped her DS shut, and crossed her arm, thinking.

"That sucks." She couldn't just ask about what's been bothering her, that'd be rude. Ness is exhausted, Ana doesn't want to make her feel... bad.

Coming back into the living room Nessa settled down next to her and smiled apologetically.

"I should've called. I didn't expect you to wait up for me, thanks". She leaned in to plant a kiss on Ana's cheek before taking another sip of water.

Ana smiled at her.

"I just couldn't sleep, Babe. Was a nice coincidence, though." She leans into Nessa's affection, trying to let herself enjoy her girlfriend's company. But... that little voice in the back of her head wouldn't leave her alone. If she's lied about Donny, what else has she lied about?

"Everything alright? Or was it just one of those nights where you cant sleep"? She asked, leaning back on the sofa and closing her eyes in comfort, she was awake, and the sleepiness was shaking off with conversation but she allowed herself some level of comfyness in her girlfriends presence.

"...I'm mostly fine. Brain wouldn't shut up, but that's nothing new." The subject of her worrying is, but... it's long since been normal for her head to bother her with worries she'd rather not address, especially in the earlier hours of the day.

"...d'you wanna go to bed, babe?"

"With you? Sure" She smirked, eyes still closed. The whole week Vanessa was worried that something would've happened while she was away, memories of Belladonna's vague threat cloying in the back of her mind. But Ana was here and she seemed fine, she would've told her if something had happened to Von. The knowledge that Ana was safe was a truck-sized weight of off her shoulders.

Ana giggled.

"I wouldn't wanna keep you awake with this," she wiggles the DS, and shakes her head.

"I uh. I might try to stay up a bit longer, just try and exhaust the... thoughts, y'know?"

"I don't mind staying up with you" Vanessa sat up straighter. She had missed Ana, honestly she did.

Ana bit her lip.

"You're sure? I don't think I'll be good company. I... I've been pretty grouchy all week..."

"Yeah, just lemmie change into something comfier, okay"? She smiled, pushing herself up from the sofa, she lumbered over to her room, looking for cozy pyjamas. Any trace of a bad mood being leeched away from being home, with Ana, her friends right now were safe. Pulling on an old t-shirt and pjyama bottoms, Vanessa wrapped herself up in her housecoat before heading back into the living room.

Ana curled back up on the couch, burying her nose in the game. If she focused on math hard enough, she'd lose the urge to snap at her girlfriend, right? Right??

She starts another round of 1 hundred simple math questions (Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division).

Nestling down opposite Ana, Vanessa checked the internet on her phone, some blogs about the show and peoples takes on the clothes, some funny memes, rumours about some celebrity who might be playing the hero in a new Hollywood block buster, not really concentrating on anything, just mindless flipping through.

Ana tried to focus on her math. It should be taking all of her focus to finish these within the two minute time limit. But Vanessa was right there, and Ana's brain wouldn't let her forget it.

"..." Maybe if she talked about it a little, she could pretend everything was fine?

"If... if something was really bothering you, you'd talk to me, right?"

Vanessa looked up from her phone, before answering unsurely;

"You mean like, that run in I had with Belladonna"? She prompted, unsure what Ana meant. At the time it had happened she had tried to push Bella's words and threats out of her mind, knowing that the young woman just liked messing with people, it was why she hadn't told Ana initially about it. Was she still upset?

"...sort of." Ana shifted, curling in on herself more. Ness hadn't been honest with all she'd said, when she'd talked to Von and Ana, and now... Ana's mind wouldn't let that go.

The worst part of this was that Donny hadn't been trying to make Ana upset, not really. If it'd calculated to hit her where it hurt, Ana could have brushed it off. Instead... it was distressing.

"You didn't talk about that until you were leaving, and didn't go into much detail."

Vanessa squirmed at that, unsure of what to say.

"I mean, you know what she's like. She says stuff to stir up trouble, I just..." she sighed, trying to find the right words.

"It's like I said at the time, on one hand, is it better to be prepared and expect her to do something? Or is it better to ignore her and just brush it off? She..." Vanessa clenched her fist. "I hate to admit it, but, despite the letters and threats she hasn't actually done anything to us, even Vondila's arm was an act to save her. I need to protect you guys but honestly, I have no idea how". She looked at Ana, surprising herself with the confession. When weighing whether or not it was a good idea to tell the others' about Belladonna's threats, she replayed all that she knew about the mysterious woman, who seemed all to willing to just...sit back and wait for them to die. She kept expecting to feel that shove, that push from Belladonna into falling but it really had been about a year now and nothing. Even the facial scar she had given Vondila all that time ago was more of a scratch than anything. That knife she felt hovering over back since that fateful Christmas party was still there, that's for sure. But now, she didn't know what to think.

"She's... a woman of her word. She won't attack you if you talk to her, prove your worth as someone to be respected." Ana let the timer run out on her game.

"She doesn't act like this for fun, it's a defense mechanism against other magi. No one else outside of Seaford bands together like we have. Being a team is different, and she sees us like a bunch of sheep waiting for slaughter. The letters are supposed to be creepy, unsettling. But they're also a test, to see if you can handle being a magi. You have to be strong or you'll just... give up one day." Ana rubbed her arm.

"Y'know, I think I respect her, now that we've talked some. She's... not as crazy as I thought. And she doesn't <em>lie</em>."

"So you and Percy had the meeting then"? Vanessa sat up straighter at that.

"Yeah. I don't know... if you'll like the agreement we've come to. But we have come up with a plan." Ana curled in on herself a little more.

"Would you have told me, that you threatened her parents, if Von hadn't been there?"

Vanessa's mouth opened into an "o" in surprise, she hadn't expected Belladonna to have told them that.

After a moment's thought she replied "Probably, yeah" rubbing her thumb over her ring she added, quietly "She threatened you two, what was I supposed to do"? She didn't know what she would do, if something had happened to Ana, Vondila or Salem while she was gone, but as much as she would want to hurt Belladonna, what little she remembered of her sister at the old ballet classes they shared, made the idea of hurting them hard to swallow.

"You. You <em>don't</em> threaten non-magi, Vanessa! That's. That's like threatening Luis! They can't defend themselves!" Ana dropped her DS to hide her face in her hands.

"It'd be one thing to threaten Aeron or her or even Percy, but! You can't go threatening family, Adelita! That's!! That's <em>villainous!</em>"

"You guys are my family"! Vanessa replied. She wasn't proud of what she had said at the time, she was just so fed up with Belladonna's mind games that she just wanted to see her sweat for once.

Ana stared at her.

"Even still. There are lines you don't cross, Vanessa. That is one." She glanced away.

"I'm not. I'm not just upset because that's something you shouldn't do- she'd only brought it up after we mentioned Von wanted you as leader, like... she couldn't believe we'd trust you- but because. Lies are what tore my family apart to begin with, Ness. How many have you told? How can I trust anything you or Von has said if I can't know that it's true? How do I know you're not still treating me like a child if I can't trust you to be honest with me?"

"Ana..." Her shoulders sagged, anything she said now would just sound like a platitude at this point, wouldn't it? Her stomach tossed and churned at the thought, but it really would be better for the pair of them to separate, wouldn't it?

"Ana, I asked you to live with me because I thought it would help both of us, but...but if you can't trust me then I guess it's best you move back in with your dad" she finally said, staring down at her hands, refusing to look at anyone else. She wanted to help her, to be with her, but she couldn't even answer any of those questions.

Tears gathered in Ana's eyes, and she wiped at them furiously.

"You're not even going to try? To defend yourself or explain what lying could have helped?" She glared to the side.

"Do you even care about me, then? I know I love you, it hurts so much to think you wouldn't trust me. But. You're just gonna give up so soon?" She knew this isn't fair. Ness just got home from a long flight and a week of modeling. Ana shouldn't be interrogating her like this. But... she'd hoped Ness would try.

"If you think all I do is lie, then anything I say's just gonna sound like one anyway, right"? Vanessa shrugged, defeated, she placed her feet of off the sofa on onto the floor, cradling her head in frustration. She just so tired. Not just from the flight, but everything. The constant fighting with everyone, the fear of losing everything she had gained in the last few years, she just didn't know what to do anymore.

"I <em>don't</em> think everything you say is a lie. I want to believe everything you tell me. But I'm scared." She wipes at her face again, anger bubbling in her gut.

"I want to be treated like your equal. I want to be respected by you and Vondila both. I want to trust you with my everything. I..." she hiccups, as the tears start again.

"I just want to understand why the only person who's never seemed to lie to me is Percy. I want to know what makes everyone else treat me like some child. I'm not that much younger than you! I don't deserve to be treated like a toddler!" She runs a hand down her face.

"I'm scared that this won't even matter, and that trying to be with you was a mistake, even if it was the happiest I've ever felt."

"It's because you've been amazing, Mariana" Vanessa replied, with a shuddering breath.

"I may have been an ass at first and not noticed how badly the truth and Etsuko affected you but I do now, I know it sucked but look at you" She turned to gesture at everything Ana was.

"You've been doing so well getting out of that, I-I can't just undo all of it by letting someone threaten us, or-or letting my own issues which are so stupid worry you" Her voice felt hoarse and she couldn't tell if it was from exhaustion or stress or tears.

"I mean it, I need to protect you guys, it's such a driving force I don't even know if I can shut it off, if this is like, my programming now since I made my wish. I-I mean, we're not even human, right? Just like, golems or shells that so happen to wear our souls, right? So I focus, on healing you guys, protecting you guys from threats. If I can do that, then it matters" She was rambling now.

"I love you, Mariana. I just don't think I'm very good at it"

"We <em>are</em> still human! We may not be normal anymore but we are human! We have needs! We need to eat, sleep, drink, go to school! All of it! Just because we know we have souls and magic and have to fight the ghosts of our predecessors doesn't mean we're not <em>people</em> anymore!" Ana wiped at her face again.

"So I have depression! So I'm scared of losing the friends we've made! That doesn't mean I should be treated like glass! I won't last much longer at this rate, and if you keep treating me like I'll break, I might just end up shattering to <em>spite you!</em> I'm frustrated! I'm angry!! I am not something to be protected, I am supposed to be <em>someone you trust.</em> That's what being your girlfriend was supposed to mean!" Ana pressed her hands to her face.

"If you only care about helping everyone else, and you won't listen to me when I tell you to take care of yourself, how can I trust you'll be able to stick around? The only person I know won't fall apart if something goes wrong right now is Percy."

Vanessa watched Ana from where she was sitting, heartbroken. Wasn't this her point of that she said? Why it'd be best for Ana to leave? Vanessa reached an awkward hand out, to comfort Ana before deciding against it and pulling it back. She probably didn't want to be near her right now. She loved Ana, she thought she had been treating her with respect and trust, just a protective brand of those things. Ana made it sound so simple, they still were themselves, no matter what. But the Vanessa from before all this wouldn't've blown up at friends for talking to other people, the Vanessa from before wouldn't threaten other people's families like some sort of gang war. If this wasn't some sort of magical programming then this side of her always existed, and the thought made her sick with herself.

Mariana let her shoulders fall.

"I don't know what I expected, when I brought up my fears... but I kinda hoped you'd assure me I was just being paranoid. I don't know if it's worth this to be right." She wipes her face.

"I'll call Papá in the morning, I guess. I could ask Von to set me up an apartment somewhere, but it'd just be a waste of money, even with her wish for Salem."

Vanessa averted her gaze, staring back at her feet in shame. Even an apology, at this point, sounded ingenuine.

"I dropped out of high school, you know. Got everything set up so I could focus on doing this. I'm not going to be able to go off to college, and... it's just smarter to focus on being a magi for however much longer I last, and maybe look into some freelance classes for things I find interesting if I do wanna learn something." She ran a hand down her face.

"I thought I'd tell you as soon as the paperwork was finished, but things have gotten kinda hectic and I'm not sure how long that will be."

Vanessa opened her mouth to say something, but it died on her lips. She hadn't known, she didn't know that Ana had dropped out, she had never mentioned it. It not like Vanessa was much for conversation, but how could she have never noticed? When did all communication break down?

"I--Good luck. With everything" was all she could muster, picking up her empty glass of water and taking it back to the kitchen.

"You too. I'm sorry." Ana curled in on herself again, pulling her DS back into her lap but not opening it. She hadn't tried to imagine this conversation, had hoped to put it off entirely. But now... she curls hugs herself a little tighter, and leans into the couch like a marionette whose strings had been cut.

She's just broken up with her girlfriend, and has to go crawling back to her father. How pathetic is that?


End file.
